Izmir Administrative Court Halts Specialized 'Readiness Exam' for Imam Hatip Middle Schools

Izmir Administrative Court has suspended the administration of a 'Readiness Exam' applied to 10-year-old fourth-grade primary school students for the purpose of selective admission to imam hatip middle schools (İHO). The Education Workers' Union filed a lawsuit against Izmir Provincial Administration and the Izmir National Education Directorate, seeking the cancellation of the exam and suspension of its implementation.

The exams in question were administered across imam hatip middle schools nationwide in April, May, and June. Dr. Ahmet İşleyen, General Director of Religious Education at the National Education Ministry (MEB), is identified as the architect of the model. The objective was to direct high-achieving students to these schools at an early age in order to raise imam hatip schools' performance rankings on the national high school (LGS) and university entrance (YKS) examinations.

Union lawyer Burak Sabuncu argued that current legislation contains no provision authorizing student enrollment through such an exam, and that differentiating students by school type in the transition from primary to middle school violates constitutional principles of equality.

A similar debate occurred in 2012 when imam hatip middle schools were reopened; at that time, transition criteria between school types were also taken to court. The Izmir Administrative Court's decision may serve as precedent for the National Education Ministry's similar practices in other provinces.